North County

San Diego County Water Authority officials have agreed to temporarily suspend plans to build a dam in the environmentally sensitive Pamo Valley.

The Water Authority Thursday supported a report prepared by the agency’s general manager, Lester Snow, who recommended that efforts to acquire a federal permit for the $86-million dam be halted.

The besieged dam proposal, which has run up a planning and design bill of almost $5 million, has been criticized by environmentalists and faces the prospect of a drawn-out regulatory battle.

Authority officials insisted Thursday that they are not abandoning the project. Instead, they said, the decision was made to “obtain more data” legitimizing the need for a dam and to seek alternative means of providing emergency water to the booming North County region. The proposed 264-foot-high concrete dam would flood Pamo Valley, an area near Ramona cherished by environmentalists for its rare stream-side habitat and isolation.

The authority has budgeted $250,000 for more studies--to be completed in 12 months--assessing the region’s water storage needs and re-evaluating the dam’s effect on the environment.

Last year, the Army Corp of Engineers approved issuance of a key construction permit for the dam, but, in November, the Environmental Protection Agency said it would reject the project unless major changes were made or proof was provided that the dam would not endanger the valley.